Boehner, Cantor call 'truce'

The top aides to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker John Boehner are now seeking a truce after a bitter year of behind-the-scenes fighting that pitted the top House Republicans against one another.

Tensions had gotten so bad between the two offices that senior aides decided, for the good of the party and their own bosses, that the rivalry has to be toned down.

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The interoffice tensions were so prominent that elected Republican lawmakers were chafing at the public and private tribulations of the ongoing Boehner-Cantor drama — one GOP lawmaker stood up and complained about it in a recent closed-door meeting of House Republicans — and the two operations came to the realization that the constant sparring between their camps could hurt both lawmakers politically.

One top House staffer described the tense relationship as having “reached the breaking point.”

So like two warring nations, Boehner and Cantor aides, with the approval of their bosses, have decided to hit the “reset button.” GOP insiders used different terms to describe the new reality — a truce, a cease-fire, a détente.

Senior staffers to Boehner and Cantor have met several times during the past month in an attempt to iron out their differences — which range from style to strategy to substance.

The most recent session was held last Wednesday in Boehner aide Mike Sommers’s office, just before the speaker’s staff retreated to a meeting in the Capitol Visitor Center. Sommers and fellow longtime Boehner aides David Schnittger and Michael Steel met with Steve Stombres and Brad Dayspring from Cantor’s office, Republican sources said. The meeting was described by several sources as frank, honest and contentious.

Boehner and Cantor themselves both publicly brush off talk of a poor personal relationship: Last year, they even hugged in public in a humorous attempt to show they get along. But that their staffs are quietly meeting and talking about how to repair the situation marks a new chapter in a running rivalry between the No. 1 and No. 2 House Republicans.

“It’s extremely helpful for everyone to get in a room and talk things out; it’s a way to hit the reset button,” said Dayspring, Cantor’s deputy chief of staff. “The beginning of the year is the perfect time to do that.”

“We have had discussions about how our operations can work better together that’s part of the point of the leadership retreat and the member retreat at the beginning of every year,” added Steel, Boehner’s press secretary.

The recent — and past — tumult between Boehner’s and Cantor’s staffers is the worst-kept secret in town. And overcoming it will certainly be a challenge.